Taco Bell: Our beef is beef

Taco Bell says it did not make changes to product or advertising because of suit

Law firm says it did get Taco Bell to make changes

(CNN) -- Attorneys have dropped a lawsuit alleging that Taco Bell's beef was mostly not beef, both sides in the legal battle said.

Alabama-based law firm Beasley Allen claimed in the class-action lawsuit in January that lab tests had shown that the eatery's beef was actually only 35 percent beef.

The plaintiffs said they wanted the fast-food restaurant to stop referring to its products as beef.

Taco Bell's leadership vowed to fight the lawsuit. They took out newspaper ads in January slamming the claims as "absolutely false." In a full-page ad in major newspapers, Taco Bell proclaimed, "Thank you for suing us."

Creed said at the time that the company was considering legal action on these "egregious" accusations against the chain's beef.

On Monday, Taco Bell said the company had been vindicated.

"As Taco Bell has stated before, the allegations in the lawsuit and in public statements about Taco Bell's seasoned beef, food quality and advertising were absolutely wrong," the company said in a statement. "No money or other value was exchanged between the parties...."

Creed added: "This sets the record straight about the high quality of our seasoned beef."

The Beasley Allen law firm confirmed the lawsuit was dropped but also said it had pushed Taco Bell to make changes -- an assertion that Taco Bell disputed.

"As a result of the lawsuit, changes in marketing and product disclosure were made by the company, allowing us to dismiss the case," the law firm said in a statement.

Taco Bell, however, said the company "is not making any changes to its products or advertising."